Conferences

Postwar Memory in El Salvador and the Diaspora, Conference and Historical Memory Festival

Toronto, Canada, April 21 – 22, 2023

The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team organized a two-day conference and memory festival in April 2023 in Toronto. The conference included a range of scholarly and community presentations with 80 attendees that included professors, students, members of the Salvadoran diaspora, and other interested members of the public. The following day, the team hosted a large public “Historical Memory Festival,” which focused on Salvadoran Canadian art, performance, and music. The event was sold out, with more than 550 attendees. 

Memory, Trauma, and Mental Health: Sharing Experiences about Community and Intergenerational Practice

Arcatao, Chalatenango, El Salvador, March 24 -26, 2023

The Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador team organized a three-day conference about trauma, mental health, and healing, which involved many of the project’s key collaborators, professors, students, community leaders, and local health promoters. With more than 45 participants, there was a significant focus on the intersection between historical memory, the armed conflict, and arts-based approaches to memory. The team wrote a final report and is planning a follow-up conference in Suchitoto, Cuscatlán, El Salvador, for May 2025.

Conference on Repopulated Communities

Suchitoto, El Salvador,  February 25, 2023

This event brought together 60 survivors and young people from the departments of Chalatenango and Cuscatlán for a one-day conference and knowledge exchange about refugee and repopulation experiences in different rural communities. The activities focused on music, performance, and discussion workshops.